Love Poems: And His Name Was a Promise to God (Wallah and Other Stories)

when you think of a man who willrub your back and speak ofwhat Garvey saidwho will have known you for lifetimesand recognized you yesterdaywho will learn to eat with his right handbecause that is the way of your peopleand your people have become his bloodevery word will be poetrythe sound of your namefrom his mouth willsound like holy scriptures andsacred chantsyou will tremble at the thoughtof his touchbrown fingers on thesmall of your backkisses on thenape of your neckqueen, how long have youknelt before kings without crowns?arise, arise and lift your headyour king has come

Jayell

Name: JayellHometown: Atlanta, GeorgiaAge: 25Age You First Fell in Love: 16Love Is: That infatuation, you can't do without it. You know what I mean? You can't do life without it.Jayell: The first time I like, fell in love, like love-love love? I would say 16 or maybe 23.Monique: What was the difference between those two times?Jayell: It was just a period of infatuation I had and I just fell in love, I couldn't go without it. I feel like twenty-three was stronger that sixteen but that's not to say sixteen wasn't love.Monique: What made you love hip hop?Jayell: The people that I loved, loved hip hop. There was something about the sound and the feeling of things, the whole aura of a song. Even this song playing (Mos Def/Yasiin Bey's Ms. Fat Booty is playing in the background), there's something about all the different components of it that come together, it complements each other and that's love.

Mike

Name: MikeHometown: Indianapolis, IndianaAge: 20Age You First Fell in Love: 16Love Is: It's partnership, knowing when you're on your back, you've got someone there to help youMonique: And what about your love for hip hop, what do you love about that?Mike: I love how it's a culture, it's for the people.

Astro

Name: Yung AstroHometown: San Diego, CaliforniaAge: 24Age You First Fell in Love: 12Love Is: Um, love is. . . That's a hard question (laughs). It's deep. I feel like love is something you have to feel. First of all, everyone has a connection in the world that we go by and love is probably the strongest. So it's something that you have to feel very deeply and be sure that you're in.Astro: So when I met hip hop, I was already in to other music, but hip hop always grabbed me.Monique: Was there a particular song?Astro: DMX type stuff, no one specific song. DMX, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, there were a lot of influences that caused me to love hip hop and have this passion for it.

Kayla

Name: KaylaHometown: Oakland, CaliforniaAge: 18Age You First Fell in Love: 18, about two months ago.Love Is: Living on one vibrational energy. It's an acronym Living. on One. Vibrational. Energy.

Black Baron

Name: Black BaronHometown: Marietta, GeorgiaAge: 24Age You First Fell in Love: 16Love Is: Loyalty, passion. Just that genuine bond and that genuine wanting to see each other succeed. And to see each other parallel with one another in a positive aspect.Black: Black stands for Believer Liberating Affirmative Cultural KnowledgeMonique: As an artist, or musician, what made you fall in love with music?Black: I would say the first time I heard music and really feeling it control me. Seeing that I could have the power to do the same thing. And once I started attending SAE in Atlanta, I was able to see the actual technical aspects of music in a literal sense and really see how God is involved with the whole aspect of music. In all frequencies from high to low, in how they either control you or instruct you. Seeing that and understanding that made me really change the type of message that I'm trying to send with my lyrics.Monique: And as far as being a black man, do you actively think of that when you're creating?Black: I do. I like to speak about a lot of real experiences. A lot of times, a lot of black brothers going through child support and the systematic system of slavery. Understanding that, I like to speak out about that a lot, knowing that it's going to hit a soft spot with them. And if that can ring a bell, in a mother who is systematically washed, to wake her up a bit, then I've done my job. You can listen to his music here!

Chris

Name: ChrisHometown: Newark, New JerseyAge: 31Age You First Fell in Love: How old was when I first fell in love with hip hop? I have to say I was around 7 or 8, it's been forever. You gotta blur out my age, don't let nobody hear that.Love Is: Good planning, respect and open-mindedness meeting at one place. When you understand the balance of moderation and saturation. That's what I consider love, unconditional love and open-mindedness practiced to the fullest.Monique: What song made you fall in love with hip hop, or music in general?Chris: (without hesitation) Craig Mack, "Flava in Ya Ear"Monique: How old were you?Chris: I don't even fucking remember. It was crazy, my pops had brought me the tape home and he said, "Yo, you don't got to listen to that funk shit no more that we listen to." I grew up listening to a lot of funk, cause George Clinton is from Plainfield, New Jersey, so we were listening to a lot of funk. Then I heard Craig Mack "Flava in Ya Ear" and it was crazy, it was love.